Interactions in Generalized Linear Models: Theoretical Issues and an Application to Personal Vote-Earning Attributes

Tsung-han Tsai and Jeff Gill
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Tsung-han Tsai: Department of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis,MO 63130-4899, USA
Jeff Gill: Department of Political Science, Division of Biostatistics, and Department of Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USA

Social Sciences, 2013, vol. 2, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: There is some confusion in political science, and the social sciences in general, about the meaning and interpretation of interaction effects in models with non-interval, non-normal outcome variables. Often these terms are casually thrown into a model specification without observing that their presence fundamentally changes the interpretation of the resulting coefficients. This article explains the conditional nature of reported coefficients in models with interactions, defining the necessarily different interpretation required by generalized linear models. Methodological issues are illustrated with an application to voter information structured by electoral systems and resulting legislative behavior and democratic representation in comparative politics.

Keywords: generalized linear models; interaction effects; first differences; personal vote-earning attributes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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